6 Ancient and Peaceful Halloween Traditions To Try This Year
From soul cakes to needfires
Hello,
Of all the festivals in the pagan calendar, Halloween is the big one. Also known as the Witches New Year, or Samhain, it’s an ancient, spooky and mysterious festival, with deep roots and some truly passionate followers.
While I love this time of year, I have to admit I am more drawn to the older traditions than our modern ones. Some of these old rituals and practices were dark, and little mysterious, but on the whole they were more peaceful and reflective than many of the Halloween rituals we recognise today.
So if you also feel drawn to the ‘old ways’ at this time of year and want to find out more about them, this newsletter is for you.
Together we’ll unravel the ancient origins of Halloween, tap into the spirit of Samhain and find out how to make soul cakes, light needfires and guide ancestors home.
Hold on to your broomsticks…
What are the origins of Halloween?
Many people believe that Halloween is based on the Celtic festival of Samhain. This ancient seasonal festival marked the end of the harvest on 31st October and the start of the dark half of the year on 1st November.
But the name ‘Halloween’ actually comes from All Hallows Day, a Christian festival designed to honour the dead, celebrated on the 1st and 2nd November. The night before - 31st October - was known as All Hallows Eve - which was then shortened to Hallowe’en.
As with many old pagan festivals that later become Christian ones, it’s easy to think that All Hallows was simply overlaid onto the existing festival of Samhain in an attempt to replace pagan spirit worship with a Christian day of remembrance. There is certainly precedent with this happening at other times of the year. But in this case the lines are a bit blurred.
The general assumption by historians and folklorists is that the two festivals both had a part to play in influencing each other over the years and merged to form the festival we recognise today.
Tell me more about Samhain
Samhain (pronounced “SAH-win”) was an end-of-harvest festival, traditionally observed throughout Scotland and Ireland on the eve of 31st October through to the 1st November. It marked the the start of the dark half of the year, so thoughts would have been on the dangerous winter months ahead.
Cattle would have been brought down from their summer pastures and many would have been slaughtered for the winter months. Bonfires and hearth fires would have been extinguished, then relit from a communal flame.
Like Beltane six month previously, this was also believed to be a point in the year where the veil between our world and the spirit world became thin and spirits could move more easily between the two.
And All Hallows?
This was a Christian festival to remember and honour the dead, celebrated on the 1st and 2nd November. It dates back at least as far as the 8th Century, and it’s an old practice that can be found across several other cultures too, such as the Día de Muertos or Day of the Dead in Mexico.
All Hallows (Hallow being Old English for Holy) encompasses All Saints Day and All Souls Day. All Saints Day honoured Christian Saints, while All Souls Day was a time to remember all who had died and to pray for their souls.
Rituals included saying prayers, lighting candles and leaving food out for loved ones who were thought to visit their former homes on this day.
So these became Halloween?
It’s not too much of a leap to see where our modern day traditions come from. The concept of guiding spirits and ancestors home on this night, paired with the need to protect against the dark months ahead created some powerful protective rituals over the years. These evolved into the practices we might recognise today.
Lighting lanterns and bonfires and dressing up in costumes to ‘trick’ unwelcome spirits are the obvious ones, as well as offering food and drink to those who come to call.
So how can we celebrate peacefully today?
Looking back at this slightly tangled history, what is clear is that the festival was originally a fairly quiet and contemplative one. It was a time when people reflected on the change of season, attempted to guard against coming dangers and prayed for the safe onward journey of those who had died. Which feels quite different from the horror-fest and fancy dress occasion that we recognise today.
If you like the idea of celebrating a bit differently this year and honouring the ancient roots of All Hallows Eve / Samhain, here are six ideas to try.
1. Share a needfire
In Celtic ritual it was tradition to extinguish all fires on the eve of Samhain, then relight them with a flame from a communal bonfire. These Samhain fires would have traditionally been lit by needfire (a flame which is created by friction) as this type of fire was thought to be protective and magical.
This fire would then have been shared around the community and used to relight hearth fires, linking the community and sharing the protective power of the fire for the coming winter.
Sharing light with others at Halloween would be a peaceful way to keep this tradition going. While passing an actual flame around could be tricky, you could give candles as gifts to friends and family at Halloween instead, as a symbolic way of passing fire from house to house.
2. Light the way home for lost souls
Another fire-based ritual that developed at this time of year, linked to the idea of wandering spirits and lost souls, was to use candles and fires to guide the way home for those who are lost. People placed candles in their windows to guide ancestors and loved ones home as it was believed they visited their old homes on this one night of the year. Bonfires were also lit on high ground as a way of lighting a path to the sky and connecting heaven and earth.
I love the idea of lighting a candle in memory of ancestors on Halloween so I’ll be placing a candle in the window for anyone who might need to see a friendly light on a dark November night.
3. Make Soul Cakes
Not a fan of trick-or-treating? Nor me. I grew up in the 80s when trick or treaters would throw eggs and flour at your house if you didn't have any sweets to give them. As a small child I was terrified of it and to this day I still get anxious when I see people walking towards my house on Halloween.
But trick-or-treating actually has much gentler origins than you might think. It’s believed to have come from the old English tradition of ‘Souling’ which began in the Middle Ages. Villagers and children would go knocking door to door to collect ‘soul cakes’ from the more wealthy villagers. In exchange for a soul cake, the poor would promise to say a prayer for the soul of any loved ones who had passed on, to help them on their onward journey.
Offering prayers or good wishes in exchange for cakes seems like a much kinder tradition to embrace, so I’m going to make soul cakes this year in lieu of trick or treating. They are a bit like a spiced, currant shortbread and I’ve linked to a recipe at the end if you’d also like to try them.
4. Tell ancestor stories
Dark nights call for storytelling. Ancient Celts were thought to call on their ancestors at this time of year to ask for wisdom and guidance for the dark months ahead. So Halloween is a perfect opportunity to delve into family folklore and ancestor stories.
If there’s anyone in your family who has the time or skill to trace your ancestral family tree, now would be the perfect moment to encourage them to cast back into the past to see what stories they might find. I keep hoping someone in my family will do this and uncover an amazing family connection to royalty or fame. Talking of which, if you haven’t seen the Danny Dyer episode of Who Do You Think You Are, you need to watch it immediately. It’s brilliant TV. Perfect November evening viewing.
4. Keep a place at the table
Feeding and welcoming those who are lost is a thread that runs through many cultures and traditions at this time of year. Spirits and ancestors were thought to return to their homes on this night, so leaving food out for them, or keeping a warm place by the fire on the night of the 31st ensured they were remembered. (Food was also left out by the door or threshold to appease more mischievous spirits.)
Sometimes this ancestor meal was called a ‘dumb supper’ as it was held in silence out of respect for any spirit visitors, but eating in silence is a bit too spooky for me. I like the idea of having a normal (noisy) family meal on the 31st instead, but laying an extra place setting at the table as a way of remembering and including those who are no longer with us.
6. Carve a pumpkin, or a turnip
After all that contemplation it’s time for an activity! It wouldn't be Halloween without a carved pumpkin lantern, but do you know the tradition actually began with carved turnips and other root vegetables? They were pretty tough to carve and they were replaced with pumpkins in the 1800s which were much easier to carve into weird and wonderful shapes. You can read more about the roots of our pumpkin obsession in this Pumpkin Season post.
This is a tradition that keeps evolving, and it offers the perfect excuse to get creative and make something different each year. If you want to carve something creative (rather than a standard scary face) take a look at the ideas here.
This year I’m contemplating making either a night-sky pumpkin, a wildlife-themed pumpkin or possibly a folk-art painted pumpkin, all of which can be found here.
Soul Cake Recipe
Who wants to try making soul cakes with me this year? Soul cakes were usually made of butter, sugar, flour, spices and currants and they sometimes had a cross carved into the top. If you search online for recipes you’ll get a few different options to try. This recipe from Lavender and Lovage sounds like a nice, straightforward one to start with. Obviously, you can make yours into whatever shape you like and decorate them any way you fancy. It’s the intention behind them that’s the important bit.
Halloween candles
If you like the idea of giving light in the form of candles this Halloween, I found these individual beeswax candle kits online. They look very easy to make - you just roll the sheet of beeswax into a tiny candle. They would also make great presents for Christmas / Winter Solstice if you’re already thinking ahead. This little kit is also good.
Ok, that’s all for now. I hope you have a peaceful and calm Halloween, filled with warm light, good memories, family gatherings and delicious spiced cakes.
I’ll see you on the 1st November for a peaceful November edition of the Monthly Notebook. We’ll be diving into ways to rest, retreat and press pause, and - as always - I’ll add a sprinkling of weird and wonderful folklore for you. Look forward to seeing you there. If you haven’t already subscribed then just click below to make sure that post arrives safely in your inbox.
Telling ancestor stories over a noisy dinner table seems like my kind of Samhain! Going to give the mix of those two traditions a try this year. Thanks for the inspiration!
I loved this, it was such a good read, with gentle ideas, which I always appreciate! I always find it interesting that of all of the ancient festivals this one is seems to be the most "mixed up." As you mentioned all of the other ones see a history in the pre-Christian calendar, but this one is just like--something else. It makes me wonder why--I feel like there is more to it than we know haha...anyways again, this such a great read, and love the more intentional ways of to celebrate this time of year.